Winch



March 1, 1960 R. M. NARDONE WINCH 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 21, 1955 INl ENTCR.

nl llll- March 1, 1960 R. M. NARDQNE 2,926,857

WINCH Filed Nov. 21, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ROMEO M. NARDONE 1! ORNEY United States Patent WINCH Romeo M. Nardone, Teaneck, N.J., assignor to Breeze JCorporations, Inc., Union, N.J., a corporation of New ersey ApplicationNovember 21, 1955, Serial No. 547,932 6 Claims; (Cl. 242-158) This invention relates to winches, and specifically such as employ cables for the purpose of lifting. articles.

Where steel cables have been used'in conjunction with Winches, the problem often arises of tumbling or jamming, due to the difiiculty in keeping the cables tightly wound upon the drum during use. The natural flexibility and springiness of the cable causes it .to become fouled and to come away from the winch drum.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a winch employing a steel cable which. will not foul or jam during use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a winch having a high degree of strength and smooth operation. t

Another object of the present invention is to. provide awinch which lends itself to useon helicopters and such aerial installations.

A feature of the present invention is its novel drum.

Another feature of the prescntinvention is its use of a ring gear for holding the cables to the drum atall times.

A further feature of the present invention is the tangential removal of the cable from the drum to afford the maximum non-fouling, properties to the Winch.

The invention consists of the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as herein illustrated, described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof is illustrated one form of embodiment of the invention and'in which:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of a complete embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed fragmentary view in elevation, partially cut away and somewhat'enlarged, of the gear and pinion drive shown in Figures 1 and 6.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the winch, according to the present invention, with certain portions broken away to show the interior construction thereof and other structure indicated by dashed lines.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view, taken on line 4-4 of Figure 6.

Figure 5 is a detailed view showing the cable coming from the drum according to the present invention, taken on a somewhat enlarged scale.

Figure 6 is a view in side elevation of the front portion of the winch according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figurue 1, 10 indicates a housing consisting of a base 11, a front wall 12, a rear wall 13, and a top or cover plate 14, (not shown in Figure 1). A hub is centrally mounted upon bearings 16 in the rear wall 13 of the housing 10. Crank means, generally indicated at 17, is provided, secured to the hub for rotating it within its mounting. It is to be understood that a motor or other means of rotating the hub 15 maybe substituted for the crank 17. A drum 18 is secured to the hub 15, and is axially mounted within the housing 10. The drum 18 is provided with a continuous groove 19 on its outer surface, which groove is of 2,926,867 Patented Mar. 1, 1960 t 2 a size which will receive therein the winch cable 20. When the cable 20 is completely wound upon the drum, it fills the entire groove 19 of said drum.

Immediately above the drum 18 there is provided a splined rod 21 which is supported by the housing 10 in bearings 22 and 23. The bearings 22 and 23 are carried by the front and rear walls 12 and 13. A gear is secured to the splined rod 21 at the front end thereof. The small gear 24 is in mesh with a large gear 25, which gear is bolted to the front end of the drum 13. It will be seen that as the drum is rotated by the handle 17, the large gear 25 will drive the gear 24, which in turn will rotate the splined drive 21. A pinion 26 is slidably mounted on the splined' rod 21, so as to be slidably driven thereby. The pinion 26 has integral therewith a roller member 27, which roller engages the helical groove 19 in the drum 18. As the drum 18 is rotated, the roller must follow along the helical groove, while the pinion is being rotated by the splined shaft 21. A ring gear 28 overlies and entirely surrounds the drum beneath the pinion 26. The inside diameter of the ringgear 28 is just large enough to clear the outside diameter of the drum 18 with the cable 20 wrapped therearound. The ring gear 28 is secured .to the pinion 26 by means of the washer 29 at one end, and the hub 30'of the roller 27 at the other end, as best shown in Figure 2. Thus, as the pinion and roller travel along the splined rod 21,.they carry with them the ring gear 28 which rotates at the same speed as the drum 18.

At. a point. generally indicated at 31, in Figures 4, 5 and 6,. the cable 20 leaves the drum 18 and is tangent thereto. At the point 31, the cable is also free of the overlying ring gear 28. Coverage of the cable 20by the ring. gear 28 increases in the counter clockwise wound direction as shown in Figure 6, so that any upward pushing upon the cable will not cause the cable to leave the drum, since. it is held thereon by the overlying ring gear. 28. p i

The lower portion of the ring gear 28 is supported and carried along in vertical alignment with the upper portion thereof. by means of guide arms 32. The guide arm 32 curves upwardly around the drum 18, and overlies the ring gear 29,, as. shownin Figure 3. Longitudinal travel is imparted to: the guide arm 32 by means of a worm 33. The. worm 33-is. in turn driven by gears 34, 35 and 36, which. form a gear train on the front of the winch. The gear 36 is driven by the hub 37, which supports the front of the drum 18. The guide arm 32 is provided with a travel nut 38 which is threadably engaged upon the worm 33. As the worm 33 rotates, it therefore carries with it the travel nut 38 which in turn moves the guide arm 32. Rotational movement of the guide arm 32 is prevented by a bar 39 which is located at the side of the drum l8, and axially disposed so as to lie parallel to the longitudinal axis of the said drum. The guide arm 32 is provided with a forked bearing member 40, which straddles the bar 39 and glides along it as the guide member is propelled by the worm member 33.,

From the foregoing, it will be seen that as the drum 18 is rotated by the handle 17, the cable which lies in the groove of the drum 18, will be payed out or reeled in, depending upon the direction of rotation of the handle 17. The ring gear overlies the cable at a point where unwinding or slack might develop. Thus, the cable is prevented from becoming fouled, and as the cable comes clear of the ring gear, it can unwind from the drum so as to raise or lower loads attached to the end thereof. The positive manner in which the ring gear and pinion are secured together and driven insures perfect alignment of all of the parts of the winch, and smooth operation over continued use under the most adverse conditions.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. A winch assembly comprising, a helically grooved drum, drum support means axially carried at each end thereof, drum crank means secured to one end of said drum, a cable secured at one end to the drum and windably received within the drum grooves, 21 ring gear overlying a portion of the drum and cable, a distance just large enough to clear the cable in the drum groove, gear and pinion means driven by the rotation of the drum and a roller on the pinion in contact with the drum grooves to slidably move the ring gear axially along the drum so as to overlie the cable nearest the free end thereof without obstructing the passage of the cable as it leaves the drum.

2. A winch assembly comprising, a helically grooved drum, drum support means axially carried at each end thereof, drum crank means secured to one end of said drum, a cable secure at one end to the drum and windably received within the drum grooves, a splined rod carried by the drum support means above said drum, a ring gear overlying a portion of the drum and cable beneath the rod a distance just large enough to clear the cable in the drum groove, gear and pinion means on the splined rod driven by the rotation of the drum in mesh with the ring gear and a roller on the pinion in contact with the drum grooves to slidably move the ring gear axially along the drum so as to overlie the cable nearest the free end thereof without obstructing the passage of the cable as it leaves the drum.

3. A winch assembly comprising, a helically grooved drum, drum support means axially carried at each end thereof, drum crank means secured to one end of said drum, a cable secured at one end to the drum and windably received within the drum grooves, a splined rod carried by the drum support means above said drum, a ring gear overlying a portion of the drum and cable beneath the rod at a distance just large enough to clear the j cable in the drum groove, gear and pinion means on the splined rod driven by the rotation of the drum in mesh with the ring gear and a roller on the pinion in contact with the drum grooves to slidably move the ring gear axially along the drum so as to overlie the cable nearest the free end thereof and a ring guide member assembly carried by the drum support means beneath the drum and embracing a portion of said ring gear to maintain the vertical alignment of the ring gear during its travel.

4. A winch assembly comprising, a helically grooved drum, drum support means axially carried at each end thereof, drum crank means secured to one end of said drum, a cable secured at one end to the drum and windably received within the drum grooves, a splined rod carried by the drum support means above said drum, a ring gear overlying a portion of the drum and cable beneath the rod a distance just large enough to clear the cable in the drum groove, gear and pinion means on the splined rod driven by the rotation of the drum in mesh with the ring gear and a roller on the pinion in contact with the drum grooves to slidably move the ring gear axially along the drum so as to overlie the cable nearest the free end thereof and a ring guide member assembly including a worm carried by the drum support means beneath the drum and a curved guide arm embracing a portion of said ring gear to maintain the vertical alignment of the ring gear during its travel.

5. A winch assembly comprising, a helically grooved drum, drum support means axially carried at each end thereof, drum crank means secured to one end of said drum, a cable secured at one end to the drum and windably received within the drum grooves, a splined rod carried by the drum support means above said drum, a ring gear overlying a portion of the drum and cable beneath the rod a distance just large enough to clear the cable in the drum groove, gear and pinion means on the splined rod driven by the rotation of the drum in mesh with the ring gear including a roller on said pinion means to slidably move the ring gear axially along the drum so as to overlie the cable nearest the free end thereof, a gear train on the front of the winch driven by the drum and a ring guide member assembly including a worm carried by the drum support means beneath the drum driven by the gear train and a curved guide arm embracing a portion of said ring gear to maintain the vertical alignment of the ring gear during its travel.

6. A winch according to claim 1 in which the pinion means includes a roller integral therewith which roller is in frictional contact with the drum groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 68,711 Crannell Sept. 10, 1867 907,825 Libby Dec. 29, 1908 1,118,270 Dahl Nov. 24, 1914 1,198,731 Lobnitz Sept. 19, 1916 1,782,358 Lang Nov. 18, 1930 1,973,446 Rosenquist Sept. 11, 1934 2,595,655 Hannay May 6, 1952 

